“The vessel was in the Somali Basin, approximately 900 nautical miles East of Eyl, Somalia. A short while later, the vessel altered course to sail towards the Somali coast. There has been no contact with the ship throughout this incident,” Naval Force spokesman John Harbour said.

He said after having transited through the Gulf of Aden, the MV Lugela was sailing towards Republic of Mauritius with a cargo of steel bars and wires. “The MV Lugela, deadweight 4,281 tonnes, has a crew of 12, all Ukrainian,” Harbour said.

Somalia is at the entrance to the Gulf of Aden, which leads to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, one of the world’s most important shipping channels.

The country has been plagued by factional fighting between warlords and hasn’t had a functioning central administration since the 1991 ouster of former dictator Mohammed Siad Barre.